Chariton courier. (Keytesville, Chariton County, Mo.) 1878-current, 1887-03-10

words:
All the worlds stage,
Sincerely your friend,
WM. SHAKEsPEARe.
Perhaps he meant that there were
flies on it-but we will not undertake
to enter this field of thought. How
ever, to speak in more serious vein
and treating the subject in a more
dignlfied way, / will state that after
number of years. scrutiny of the
world am convinced that the great
bard used this expression In q fgura-
tive sense only. Could he pick up
his pen to-day he would either erase
the above line.or add to it SO that it
would read:
All the worlds stage and nobody
but the woman IN the high hat can
see what is going on upon it.
Yours bitterly,
BILL.
1t is not new field, perhaps, this
discussion of the tall hat, but 1 de-
sire In my poor, weak way to add
my testimony to the testimony of
those who have sat down on said
hat. 1 feel of truth, occasionally,
that this high hSt is IAaklng an old
man of me and drawing lines of care
here and there over my fair Yaung
face. Here at time of life when 1
ought to be in the full flush and
pride of manhood, / find myself no
longer able to build the FIRE in the
morning, and my breath, which was
once a robust as that of the upas tree,
now comes in short pants.
The tall hat with wad of timothy
or five pound pompon at the apex
thereof has brought this about. How
would man look who might sit in
the baId-headed row wearing joint
of stovepipe on his head trimmed
with hay? Has it not been the GUS
tom for years to place bald-ieaded
men on the front row, because they
offered no obstruction to the vision?
And now, what do we see?
We do not see anything.
1 will leave 1t to any disinterested
person to say whether / do not love
and admire woman, whether aggre-
gate or segregate, but she does do
some things which as her friend and
admlrer / deeply regret.
Not long ago I had the pleasure of
attending one of Mr.. Booths per-
formances in which he took the part
of 'eHamlet' with great credit to
himself, as I afterward learned from
member of the orchestra who saw
the whole performance,
If had not promised a former
wife of mine that / would never
touch liquor I would have been am
ply justified that evening in saturat-
ing myself with bay rum or some
other seductive beverage.
/ paid large price week before
hand for a seat at the stHamlet"
performance because had met Mr..
Booth once in the Rocky mountains
and had made a deep impression on
him. had also told HIM that il he
ever happened to be in town where |
was lecturing would dismiss any
audience to come end hear him, and
he might do as he thought best about
shutting up on the following night to
come and hear me.
Well, noticed at first, when 1
went in, that the row before me was
uuoccupied, and gathered myself
up IN strong, manly embrace and
hugged myself with joy. The cur
tain bumped itself and the first act
was about in the act of producing
itself when meek little gentleman,
with an air of conscious guilt, came
down the aisle in advance of a
women's excursion, consisting OF
four female members of his family II
judged. He looked about over the
house, timidIy took off his coat and
seemed to be preparing himself for
the vigilance committe. Then he sat
down TO see whether executive Glenn
eucy could do anything for him.
The first woman of the four was
probably over 40, and yet with her
almost heardlees face she locked
scarcely SO. She wore tall erect
hat, with sort of plume to it, made
by pulling the paint-brush tail our Of
an iron-gray mule and dying it a
deep crimson.